Light transmitting checker piece



, Feb. 23, 1954 G. F. WALES 2,670,208

LIGHT TRANSMITTING CHECKER PIECE Filed April ll, 1950 `INVENT OR ATTORNEY ealyeflfales I Patented Feb. 23, 1954 UNITED STATE-S PATENT OFFICE amcgzcs LIGHT TRANSMITTING CHECKER PIECE Gelfge F. Wales, Kenmore, N'.- Y; Application April 11, 195o, serial' No. 155,149'

2 Claims.

This invention relates to devices for indicating' andv illustrating the plays ofv games of position s'uch as chess, checkers and the like, and more particularly the' invention is concerned With the game pieces', or men, employed in connection With such devices.

A game device of the type and for the purpose generally described is disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 150,671, which is now Pateiit No. 2,647,749, issued August 4, 19,53, wherein a gaine board having' e; checkered playing area is' illustrated and wherein windows are formed in the gamel` board the squares of the checkered area. A record form is supported beneath the playing area in such a manner that it is visible through said windows, the record `forrn being adapted to be perforated by suitable instruments inserted through said Windows and being movable in a direction Which is angularly related with respect to the direction of the columns of squares ofthe checkered playing area. Thus, by' pei-forat'ing' the record formgto indicate the origin and destinationo'f the playing' piece involved in' each Inove, a play-'by-play record of any game may be marie so' that at any' subsequent time such game may be replayed or the moves thereby indicated or illustrated, exactly as origi- Iially' played, the gaine device described being available not only for' repiaying games recordedon it but also' being available for the replay'ing '1- games (itlferwis' IQCO'Id'd.

In order to facilitatev the replayi'ng of recorded games, the device shown said cri-pending application'- includes a light source which is' located loen'eatlf-i the record iorm so that when. perioraf tions; or light pervious; areas, in the record' forni register' With the Windows in the squares of the' checkered playing area, light fro-rn the light source willi nasshv through'- said Windows and in so doing indicate the game pieces involved in the various moves, their' origini and their destination.

The principal object of the present invention isto provide a game device for the purpose described' which is sodesigrred that t .e use of gaine pieces', or nien, and their movement upon the playing area of the game' board in conventional manner is permissible' Willv not reduce to' any substantial degree the' effectiveness of the device ifi its capacity as a mediumfor simultaneously indicating and illustrating the Amoves of a gaine.

further' object is to provide a novel gaine piece, or man.

A still'` further object is to' provide a game' piece which embodies the features of thel invention but which may, if desired, have eoniiguration of e; conventional gameniece, or man.

still further object is to provide gaine piece; or man, which is so designed as to direct toward the eyes of the players the iight which passes through the windows of a game board of a device of the character described.v l e y The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a same device embodying features of the invention; A

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail section taken along line 2 2 oi Figure 1;

Figures' 3 and 4 are sectional views through different forms of checkers', or checker-like gaine pieces, designed in accordance with the invention;

Figure 5v is a top view of the game piece shown in Figui-e 4 Figure' 6 is a sectional vievv' througha chess# man embodying features oi' the' invention; y i

Figure 7 is a horizontal section taken along line i-'l' of Figure 6; and l Figure 8 is a sectional viev'v through still another form of checker, or game piece. Y

The game device, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 includes a gaine boardl lll which is generally, sirnilar to` the game board disclosed in my aforementioned co-pending application Serial Number 150,671, the top of the game board having a checkered area I'I suitable for playing checkers and chess'y thereon. Game' pieces in the formof checkers are indicated at' l2. Centrally of each square of thev checkered area the top of the gaine board is forrned with a Window,v or aperture, i3 through which a recordiorm it is visible, the record form being carried on suitable rolls (one of which is indicated at and being movable between ythe under side of the top of the game board and a dieA plate it. The latter is formed with apertures i1 which reg-` ist'er With the windows, orapertures, i3 so that the record form may be perforated byvinserting a punching element throughany pair of aligned apertures, The punching element may, if desired, be of the type carried by the game pieces, ornien, as' disclosed in co-pe'nding application Serial N111'rnher Patent No. 2,651,521, issued Septen-f1l`ier 8, 1953. A tubular light source le of sinuous shape extends back' and forth under the rows' of perforations i1 in the' die plate.

lt will thus he apparent that the record form may be perforated to record play-by-play, and in the proper sequence, the moves of a game. Hence such game, o1" inov'es thereof, may be replayed at any time by' advancing the' record form through the device in the same manner it was advanced duringA` recording of the o'rig'inal' game and. moving the ga-me pieces, or irren, as indicated hy the record for-rhs', it beingnoted that whenever a perforation in the recordy forni 155,150, which is new' registers with a window in the top of the game board, light from the light source i8 will pass through the window to the eyes of the players and thereby indicate that the particular squares having the illuminated windows correspond to the origin and destination of the particular move which is represented.

In accordance with the invention, the game pieces, or men, which are employed in carrying out the various moves indicated by the record form are so designed that they may be employed generally in the same manner as conventional game pieces without interfering to any material degree with the passage of light to the eyes of the players in the manner and for the purpose described. To this end, the gaine pieces are preferably transparent or are opaque and have transparent cores which register with the windows in the top of the table so that any light which is permitted to pass through the windows will also -be permitted to pass through the game pieces.

The game pieces may be formed in various ways to permit the passage of light through them. For example, the game piece shown in Figures l, 2 and 3 is in the form of a checker. It is solid and opaque, may be of plastic and has a central, transparent, plastic core I9. When such a game piece is located on the game board so that the core i9 is located over one of the windows i3 and a perforation in the record form permits light to pass through the window, such light will pass through the core I9 to the eyes of the players and thereby indicate that this particular game piece is the one to be moved.

In Figures 4 and 5, a diierent form oi checker is illustrated, the checker in this instance being in the general shape of a flanged disk and having annular concentric ribs 2t and 2i, the latter providing a cavity reduced bore extension 22 checker. The checker in be formed of an opaque plastic material and the cavity and bore extension lled with a transparent plastic. This form of game piece has the advantage that the diameter of the base portion of the transparent plug is considerably larger than that of the windows in the top of the game board. Hence the game piece does not have to be accurately positioned over the windows to insure transmission of light through the transparent core in the manner contemplated.

A chessman embodying the features of the invention is illustrated in Figures 6 and 7. In this embodiment, the game piece has a central bore in which the light transmitting core 23, preferably a transparent plastic, is accommodated. The core 23 may extend above the top of the game piece, as shown, and the base of the game piece may carry a felt pad 24, the latter having a central opening for accommodating the lower end of the core 23. As in the case of the checkers heretofore in the top wall oi the described, the chessman is adapted to be positioned on the game board so that the lower end of the core 23 Will be located over the window of the square which the game piece occupies. Under such conditions, light which is permitted to pass through the window by the record form is transmitted through the core 23 and through the upper end of the latter to the eyes of the players.

A fourth modied form of checker is shown in Figure 8. In this embodiment, the checker is solid and the body thereof is opaque as in the case of the checker in Figure 3. However,

which terminates in a i this instance may also,

the transparent, light-transmitting core has a cup-shaped upper end 25 and a stem-like lower end 25 of reduced diameter, the cup-shaped upper end being formed with annular, light-refleeting facets 27. This form oi light-transmitting core has the advantage that the illumination of the core may be readily observed by the players even though the light source may not be bright, or the game piece may be inaccurately positioned over the window, or the perforation in the record form inaccurately registered with the aligned apertures through which the light is transmitted.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the various forms of game pieces illustrated and described have the advantage that the transparent cores thereof pipe through the game pieces the light which is permitted to pass through the windows over which the game pieces may be positioned. Consequently such light is emitted from the tops of the game pieces in such a manner as to be readily and clearly visible to the eyes of the players.

The specic type of game board and the specific forms of game pieces illustrated and described in connection with the game board are intended by way of example and not by way of limitation, it being apparent that the advantages of the invention may be obtained with various other designs of game boards and game pieces.

I claim as my invention:

l. A game piece for use with game apparatus wherein moves of said game piece are indicated by the emission of light through windows in said apparatus which identify positions which the game piece may occupy or to which it may be moved, said game piece being movable over said apparatus and to register selectively with one of said Windows and having an opaque body and a light-transmitting, transparent core positioned therein and extending therethrough, said core having the emission end thereof formed to provide light-reflecting facets.

2. A game piece for use with game apparatus wherein moves or said game piece are indicated by the emission of light through windows which identify positions which the game piece may occupy or to which itv may be moved, said game piece having an opaque body with a centrallydisposed light-transmitting core positioned therein and extending therethrough, said core havingv a cup-shaped upper end and a stem-like lower end of reduced diameter, the cup-shaped upper end being formed with annular, light-reflecting facets.

GEORGE F. WALES.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Gordon Feb. 12, 1952y 

